Tag Archives: Super Bowl

Thank You Taylor Blitz Time Readers!

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Thank you Taylor Blitz Times readers as we had a record month in December that has drawn in more readers than ever before. 30,424 to be exact. To those new readers  who subscribed there are 725 articles covering all the players, teams, and historical articles. So please go to the search bar or subject categories and look for a particular team, player or subject, you’ll be surprised what you’ll find.

This endeavor was started to highlight defensive football and offer an alternative look at the game through the eyes of a historian. Most football shows have deevolved into staring at stats and only talking through the lense of a Walter Mitty type talking about the quarterback position. All the patterned nuance of hitting and visceral football that you and I both grew up playing gets lost. That essence that made us fall in love with the game.

So why The Chancellor of Fooball? Its simple… the love of the game is to cover every single football team and player throughout history, not just my Buffalo Bills. The American Football League and NFL teams before the merger. Writing and talking about your favorite team is too easy to me. It became a challenge to cover every single team with the same fervor than just who you are a fan of. That was my challenge to myself.

The new goal is to see Taylor Blitz Times hit our 1,000,000th read! So yes share the article, comment, agree with points or disagree with points, just be respectful while doing so. I want someone showing their son, nephew, or daughter a player from the past without stumbling across rancor in the comment section. Its not what I built here and as I curate my work its fun seeing articles showing up in places with youngsters because of such. Now you’ll see an occassional cute model for some eye candy but that’s all. Hey if the networks do it why can’t I? But no mudslinging back and forth you see on Twitter, Threads, or Youtube.

For those that are new here I want to encourage you to look around and there were several projects from the past that will be reissued this month. Some are having additional videos or pics loaded up with them to give them a fresher look. Then there are several projects from years gone by you’ll find interesting

Top Ten Single Season Defenses – An 11 article offering where the top 10 received their own article and my list of those that almost made the cut. Criteria? What were they ranked for the season, record vs ProBowl QBs, how many teams held under 10 points in their season and how they did against Top 10 offenses that year. There are 10 more criteria and too much to cover. This link takes you to the “honorable mention” once there go to the bottom and hit next to cycle through the 10 articles.

Where were you when Dwight Clark made “The Catch” to begin the 49ers dynasty of the 1980s? What about the hit in the 1990 NFC Championship that took out Joe Montana for two years? Well you can hear from Giant Leonard Marshall & Mark Collins and their thougts clicking the link. And Joe Montana , I loved seeing him get absolutely decked but this last link is for appreciating the greatest QB in the history of the game? Wouldn’t it be cool to see videos and NFL Films to show you how they were thought of at the time? Click the link… you’ll be right there.

What about The Pro Football Hall of Fame? Well I can tell you my first two subjects Robert Brazile & the late Kevin Greene were written on the same night. Kevin & his lovely wife Tara had me at his 2016 PFHoF induction and I was in attendance for Mr Brazile in 2018. I had the chance to meet him since I had been invited by Jerry Kramer to the induction ceremony in 2018.

With Kevin Greene after the Induction ceremony.

All of this stems from advocating for players and coaches who I believed belong in The Pro Football Hall of Fame. In all 14 of the 22 I’ve written about and sent letters for have been enshrined. I’m still connected with each family and its not lost on me as we head to Super B0wl LX in San Fran not to remember Kevin & Tara learning he had made it in San Francisco before Super Bowl L.

Who did I hear he had made it into Canton? NFL Network? ESPN? No Alicia Kramer, Jerry’s daughter after the disappointment he didn’t get in again. Which made this picture and the trip to Canton in 2018 so special! Very emotional hug right as Rich Eisen was telling everyone to sit down as The Gold Jacket broadcast was seconds from beginning. She was her father’s presenter on Saturday inside the stadium.

What about retrospecives on Ronnie Lott, Jack Tatum, OJ Simpson, Dick Butkus, or the legendary Johnny Unitas? I just gave you 14 links to articles out of 726 or 1.92% of all the articles compiled here with video and personal touch commentary. What other players or stories or conjecture pieces are in the other 712?? Thats for you to go and look for whatever you want to look up. Pay attention to the comment section also you never know what former players have stopped by to leave remarks.

Grab your old man and ask him who Jaguar Jon Arnett was and show him this.RIP he was a friend to Taylor Blitz Times and commented often. As did Chris Burford, do you know who that was? The first ever player signed by Lamar Hunt to play for the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs. Another friend to Taylor Blitz over the years.

Well enjoy and remember: If you enjoy or learn something like sometthing. Comment on it let me know you were here and what you thought. If you do that go ahead and share then subscribe.

Hey….another one of those cute football ladies again.

I’m off to have a dirty Martini with the Mrs. Thanks and I hope you come back and tell your friends to look up Taylor Blitz Times.

 

 

 

Top Ten Single Season Defenses in NFL History: Honorable Mention

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Reissue of Original Issue 21. June 2014 

With the Seattle Seahawks back in the NFC Championship with a new iteration of a great defense that could land in Super Bowl LX, here is a blast from the past inspired by The Legion of Boom and where they stood in history. In this study every season’s #1 defense, record setting defenses, trend setting defenses, and every Super Bowl & NFL championship defenses dating back to 1960. The nod would lend to those post the AFL/NFL merger of 1970. That wasn’t enough as now lets take each defense and cover what they did vs Pro Bowl QBs that season, 1,000 yard rushers, and playoff teams and talk about their effectiveness along with their statistics. Here turnovers forced is a big marker. Nothing watered down so a favorite team can’t be given favor. So The Chancellor of Football took over 200 defenses and boiled it down to this 11 article series…

Smith's 69 yard interception in Super Bowl XLVIII ended the competitive phase of the game.

Smith’s 69 yard interception in Super Bowl XLVIII ended the competitive phase of the game and trumpeted the question: Where would you rank Seattle’s defense with  the all-time greats??

When Malcolm Smith crossed the goal line to put Seattle up 22-0 in last February’s Super Bowl, pundits were already arguing where they ranked among the NFL’s greatest defenses. Here at Taylor Blitz Times we wanted to let some time pass before we waxed too philosophical about their exploits. As the keeper of the flame, it’s up to The Chancellor of Football to accurately place each great defense. We will do this in 3 parts.

One of the criteria for greatest ever defenses you have to ask is: How dominant were they at their peak? They had to bring the lumber over an entire season. These defenses had to be stout with a performance that stands the test of time in remembrance. Without further adieu we have to get on with the Honorable Mention. Those right outside the top ten.

1977 Denver Broncos – The original Orange Crush defense that led the Broncos to Super Bowl XII and Denver’s first ever winning season. This was the first great full time 3-4 defense that yielded only 148 points (10.6 pts / game) and just 18 touchdowns for the season. Holding 7 of their opponents to 10 points or less.

Led by Randy Gradishar, ESPN’s Tom Jackson, and the late Lyle Alzado this defense had an unheard of 4 All Pros concentrated on this defense and 5 Pro Bowlers. This not ready for primetime group came out of nowhere and swallowed the Steelers and Raiders in the playoffs before falling to Dallas in New Orleans in Super Bowl XII. This group swarmed like bees and ushered in the era where 3-4 defenses took over the NFL.

1978 Pittsburgh Steelers – In the first year in which the NFL moved to a 16 game schedule, this group set the new record with fewest points allowed in a season with 195. Powered by the Steel Curtain, they held 8 of 16 opponents to 10 or fewer points. This group did more blitzing than in years past to get to the quarterback. They did have 5 Pro Bowl defenders and 1 All Pro in Jack Ham, but there were stronger incarnations of the Steeler defense.

A fact that gets lost is going into Super Bowl XIII, the consensus was Pittsburgh force vs the finesse Cowboys. Yet it was Dallas whose defense was ranked #2 and Pittsburgh’s #3, For the season they yielded 260.5 yards per game, unofficially had 52 sacks and 27 interceptions which ranked 7th. They peaked in the playoffs holding both Denver and Houston to 10 points and 5 points respectively. Yet gave up some serious candy to the Dallas offense (320 yards & 31 points)

1968 Baltimore Colts – The team that is best known for coming up short in Super Bowl III against the AFL’s New York Jets. In The Chancellor of Football’s estimation, this was the best team that Don Shula ever coached and one of his defensive assistants was the late Chuck Noll. This defense held 10 of 14 regular season opponents to 10 or fewer points. At one point late in the season, they gave up 1 touchdown over 25 quarters including a string of 16 straight quarters w/out a touchdown allowed.

md-darkroom-hutchins-curtisThe Colts of ’68 shut out 3 regular season opponents and the fourth was against the Browns who gave the 13-1 team their only loss. That drubbing was avenged 34-0 in the NFL Championship Game. They even set the record with only 144 points allowed. Between 1967 & 1968 their record was 24-2-2. If only this team had won on January 12th 1969…..but….

2000 Tennessee Titans – Lost in the delirium over the great 2000 Ravens defense, is the fact they finished #2 to the Titans that year in rankings. Jeff Fisher’s bunch only allowed 238.9 yards per game and held 6 opponents to 10 points or less over the campaign.

Second year DE Jevon Kearse led the team with 11.5 sacks and 4 forced fumbles. Samari Rolle had 7 interceptions he returned for 140 yards and a touchdown. SS Blaine Bishop had 84 tackles to go with 2.5 sacks but 0 interceptions. All three were Pro Bowlers but only Samari was an All Pro Player. One issue is they didn’t force enough turnovers (29) and they finished just +1 in turnover ratio. These are poor marks considering they only saw 1 Pro Bowl quarterback the entire season. Yet they were #1 against the pass (151 yds /gm) and #3 against the run (86 yds /gm).

1987 San Francisco 49ers – One of the last teams to finish with the NFL’s #1 offense and defense happened with this group in 1987. They were gaining momentum allowing only 1 touchdown in the final 16 quarters of the season and none in the final 12 as the playoffs beckoned. They held 5 opponents to 10 or fewer points including two shutouts in their final three games. One of which was a 41-0 hammering of the NFC Central Champion Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. 

Led by All Pro and Pro Bowler Ronnie Lott (5 ints) this group was #1 against the pass (165 yds /gm) while only yielding 273 yards for the game. What makes this more remarkable are 3 games were played with replacement players due to the strike. Had the season been 16 games instead of 15 and no strike, these numbers could have been even better. They were also #5 against the run (107.4 yds / gm) thanks to All Pro and Pro Bowl Nose Tackle Michael Carter.

Jim Burt knocking Joe Montana out with a concussion in their 49-3 rout in the '86 playoffs.

Jim Burt knocking Joe Montana out with a concussion in their 49-3 rout in the ’86 playoffs.

1986 New York Giants – A romanticized defense that knocked 5 quarterbacks out on their way to the Super Bowl XXI championship. Yet they were #2 in 1986 and allowed 39 more yards per game than the #1 Chicago Bears with 297.3 yards per game. Second biggest discrepancy between #1 and #2 since 1970.

Led by League MVP and Defensive Player of the Year Lawrence Taylor’s 20 sacks, New York held 5 teams to 10 points or fewer during the regular season. They held their 2 NFC playoff opponents to 3 & 0 points respectively. There were 4 Pro Bowl defenders on this defense in LB Harry Carson, NT Jim Burt, DE Leonard Marshall, and the aforementioned LT.

2008 Pittsburgh Steelers – Close but no cigar. This team finished with the #1 ranking allowing just 237.2 yards per game. They held 8 opponents to 10 or fewer points yet gave up 223 for the season. One mark against them is they only faced 2 Pro Bowl QBs and lost both games. Losing 24-20 to Peyton’s Colts and 21-14 against Eli’s Giants. This was also the year they beat the Patriots 33-10 with Matt Cassel at QB not an injured Tom Brady. Big difference. This group had 51 sacks but only 20 interceptions. The last time we saw them, Kurt Warner passed for 377 yards, 2nd highest in Super Bowl history, and needed Big Ben to bail them out with a game winning pass with :32 left.

This group did have NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison and Pro Bowl SS Troy Palamalu who would win the award 2 years later. Harrison had 16 sacks with 7 forced fumbles. James Farrior (122 tackles) was the 3rd and final Pro Bowler on a talented roster which included LaMarr Woodley (11 sacks).  They were a world champion but this group didn’t perform high enough against the best competition. The top ten is a Sugar Ray Leonard’s list, the honorable mention is where Thomas Hearns resides.

Dwight Smith capped off Super Bowl XXXVII with 2 defensive touchdowns. Should have been the MVP.

Dwight Smith capped off Super Bowl XXXVII with 2 defensive touchdowns. Should have been the MVP.

2002 Tampa Bay Buccaneers – The final team to miss the call to the top ten was the 2002 Buccaneers. The undisputed #1 defense that year. However playing in the new NFC South they feasted on patsies. On 3 occasions they took on top 10 offenses and they lost two of those games to Philadelphia (10th) and Pittsburgh (5th).

This team yielded 252.8 yards per game had 43 sacks and 31 interceptions which ranked 6th and 1st respectively. This team only gave up 196 points while holding 9 regular season opponents to 10 or fewer points. However a closer look reveals they came against offenses ranked 26th, 18th, 14th, 23rd, 31st, 31st, 12th, 14th, and 29th. Chris Redman (who??) quarterbacked the Ravens who was the first in this group. While NFL journeyman Jim Miller led the Bears in the last game.

This team fielded 5 Pro Bowl players in NFL Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brooks, Shelton Quarles, Hall of Famer Warren Sapp, Simeon Rice (15.5 sacks), and S John Lynch. This group scored on defense. Brooks tied the NFL record with 4 defensive touchdowns and CB Dwight Smith set a Super Bowl record with 2 interception returns for touchdowns. Their numbers and performance should get them in until you look at the competition. Someone reading this is going to describe how they throttled the #1 Raider offense in the Super Bowl. Yet how much do you attribute to Monte Kiffin’s defense or Jon Gruden knowing his former Raider offense and personnel??

Thanks for reading and now its time for the top 10.

Legendary Days: The 1990 NFC Championship Game – The Death of Camelot 35th Anniversary Today!

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Leonard Marshall clobbers Joe Montana and knocks him out of the 1990 NFC Championship Game. He doesn’t return to action until the final game of the 1992 season against the Detroit Lions.

Reissue of Original Piece 24, July 2018

There is an old axiom when it comes to boxing when you hear someone say “styles make great fights” meaning opposing styles colliding provide great theater. Never was this more evident when it came to the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Giants of the 1980’s. The identity of the men from Gotham was a blood thirsty defense led by Lawrence Taylor, arguably the greatest defensive player ever. Joe Montana had ascended to legendary status as he led the NFL’s most efficient offense to 4 Super Bowl titles that decade. They would meet in a fitting crescendo that still has ramifications to this day.

If you travel to 1978 the Giants and 49ers met in what was a forgettable season for both. New York won 27-10 out in Candlestick during the season’s 4th week. They only won 3 games the rest of the stanza while San Francisco only won twice. Both began by hiring coaches in 1979 in Bill Walsh and Ray Perkins which set the course as each regime rose to prominence in the decade to come.

The next step was the selection of franchise quarterbacks, first Phil Simms in New York in round one then Joe Montana in the third. Each turned to the draft for the same spark on defense a few years later when the Giants selected LB Lawrence Taylor and Walsh’s selection of FS Ronnie Lott both in the 1st round in 1981. Both would later be enshrined in Canton.

Walsh and company ended an 8 year playoff drought with a 13-3 record and homefield advantage as Montana and company had come of age. New York defeated Dallas 13-10 to earn their first trip to the NFL postseason in 18 years. Then after a 27-21 upset of the defending NFC Champion Eagles in the wildcard round, New York was one step away from the NFC Championship Game and traveled west to face San Fran.

Going into the game the question was could NFL Defensive Player of the year Lawrence Taylor get to Joe Montana?? Could the finesse passing game take down the Giants’ hard rock defense??

Walsh’s team was shattering the NFL paradigm by passing first to set up the run. Contrary to popular belief was the fact it was San Francisco’s defense ranked #2 to the Giants at #3.

Montana was 20 of 31 for 304 yards for 2 TDs in a 38-24 win under the lights in Candlestick. Next came the NFC Championship with Dallas & The Catch, then a Super Bowl XVI victory and all the prestige that came with it. Walsh became the toast of the league and christened with his “genius” label. Joe became one of the faces of the NFL and would be one for the decade of the 1980’s.

The vanquished?? Well New York Defensive Coordinator Bill Parcell’s unit collapsed giving up a season high 38 points. They had only given up 30 once the entire year up to that point. As is the case when teams come up short in the playoffs, they’re knocked off kilter for a couple of years.

Parcells succeeded Perkins after a 4-5 season in ’82 and was nearly fired after a disastrous 3-12-1 rookie year in ’83. Yet all the while Walsh was one of the NFL’s marquee coaches and his 49ers bounced back and came within a couple penalties from winning the NFC Championship a 2nd time in 3 years. They fell to Washington 24-21 yet the media further spread the moniker they anointed Walsh with….”genius.”

Parcells bristled at the attention Walsh and the 49ers “finesse” approach to the game was getting. It only intensified in ’84 as they went 15-1 and threatened to go undefeated. New York rebounded as Phil Simms finally emerged from the shadows and became a 4,000 yard passer and the Giants returned to the playoffs. Another NFC playoff loss to Joe and the Niners 21-10 relegated the Giants to the NFL’s jr varsity as Walsh and Joe went on to hoist another Lombardi trophy.

However over the years Parcells kept building a team of brute force. Although they had been effective he drafted 6-4 250lb OLB Carl Banks who was a blue chip strong side ‘backer. Brought in 288 lbs DE Leonard Marshall to replace a 259lb Gary Jeter. He kept building upon his defense and relying on a straight forward power rushing attack.

Finally in the 1985 playoffs, the Giants #2 ranked defense held Montana and the 49er offense out of the endzone for the first time in a 17-3 Wildcard win at home. For the first time ever Parcells and the Giants beat the Niners in the 80’s and in the locker room he scoffed “What do you think now about that west coast offense?” In a bit of irony he wound up coining the name Walsh’s offense would come to be known forever.

However the Giants were manhandled in Chicago 21-0 to the eventual champion Bears. Both teams were built in the same old school fashion. You win with brute force on the line of scrimmage with a heavy front 7 and a strong offensive line with an offense that relied on the run. Yet the Giants sent alarm bells off all around the NFL when they already had a strong defense yet spent their first 6 picks in the first 3 rounds all on defense.

They fortified their defensive line with 6’4 280 lbs DE Erik Dorsey, NT Eric Howard who stood 6’4 275, 250 lb ILB Pepper Johnson along with crafty CB Mark Collins who was nearly 5-10 200 lbs. Collins turned into one of the Giant defense’s greatest assets as he blanketed Jerry Rice and was the best in history covering him. This gave the Giants a tremendous advantage for years to come.

Jim Burt knocking Joe Montana out with a concussion in their 49-3 rout in the ’86 playoffs.

In the ’86 playoffs the Giants defense had come of age and starting with a 49-3 devastation of San Francisco in the NFC Divisional Round, it became clear the pendulum had completely swung. Jim Burt knocked Joe Montana out with seconds to go in the 1st half as Taylor returned an interception 34 yards to balloon the score to 28-3. In an embarrassing fashion Walsh’s squad was hammered into submission. Physically beat down unlike any game they had seen since they became one of the league’s elite a few years before.

This forced the 49ers to finish what they started in the ’85 draft fortifying their lines with bigger players to deal with the Bears and Giants. It came to fruition as the Niners went on to win Super Bowls XXIII and XXIV after the ’88 and ’89 seasons. Walsh had stepped down after the XXIII championship and former DC George Seifert took over head coaching duties. Offensive Coordinator Mike Holmgren began to be recognized as the 49er offense elevated their play to one of near perfection. Walsh’s legend only grew even in his departure for creating the offensive system which allowed his 49ers to become the team of the decade.

Going into 1990 pundits were debating not only were the 49ers the best ever team but was Joe Montana the best ever quarterback?? The same could be said of Jerry Rice as he had assaulted the record books and also had been a Super Bowl MVP. On their way to back to back championships they had set the NFL record with 18 consecutive road wins. Now they had the chance to win 3 straight Super Bowls where it would leave no doubt. They began the season with a 10-0 record and…

Waiting for them who also began 10-0 was the Giant team that had learned how to win from the 49ers and had taken it up a level. Now the more powerful rebuilt 49ers who had a 2-3 record (0-2 in the playoffs since ’85) staring them down. Were they lucky they hadn’t met the Giants in the playoffs in both ’88 and ’89?? Would they even have won back to back had New York had a shot at them??

The Chancellor definitely doesn’t think they would have.. yet I digress

In week 12 each team was 10-1 when they met in San Francisco on a Monday Night. In the 2nd highest watched MNF in history the 49ers beat the Giants 7-3 in a slugfest where the Giants inability to score a touchdown on offense did them in. In 3 shots inside the redzone they could only score 1 field goal. Yet to a man the Giants relished another shot at San Francisco. Finally they would have their chance in the NFC Championship Game. For the decade the playoff record between the two stood at 2-2 and they would meet in the last chance to halt “Camelot’s” greatest procession into history.

In the collective gasp after the Leonard Marshall hit you knew everything had changed. The silence that befell Candlestick Park as Montana writhed in pain for several minutes was palpable. Unlike most games where the network would take a commercial break, a nationwide audience sat glued to the football version of a tragic event. The greatest quarterback whose nimble feet that deftly dodged trouble in and out of the pocket forever in January’s past had been viciously taken down. The Camelot Bill Walsh so eloquently stated of that era ended in that moment.

The final kick by Matt Bahr for the 15-13 win was just icing on the cake made by a ferocious defense in one of the greatest games in NFL history.

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A more visceral look:

The era closed with the Giants holding a 3-2 edge in postseason games although the Niners were team of the decade. Over the next 27 years coaches from both sides made it to the Super Bowl 15 times with Bill Belichick (9) Tom Coughlin (2) Mike Holmgren (3) and Jon Gruden (1). This doesn’t include Bill Parcells’ 2nd Super Bowl triumph 1 week after this game vs Buffalo in XXV. Much has been made of the Bill Walsh coaching tree but take a look at the one stemming from Parcells’ group. Its second to none and it all started with a championship win over Camelot in 1990.

Looking back each team had elevated the other and by the time the decade concluded they were head and shoulders above other teams. However the two contrasting styles made for great theater and one where most people forget who finished with the upper hand.

Thanks for reading and please share the article.

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The Buffalo Bills Should Hire Bill Belichick

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With the ink drying in the record books for the end of the Buffalo Bills 2025 season and now the firing of Head Coach Sean McDermott, its time ot move forward and hire Bill Belichick. Keep in mind if you’re new here The Chancellor was calling for Sean McDermott’s dismissal the last few weeks here and in social circles since November.

Then my original question was “Has The Buffalo Bills Super Bowl Window Closed” believing it had with Coach McDermott at the helm. The disappointing part is GM Brandon Beane is still inhouse who built such a weak team around Josh Allen.

The epitaph on the McDermott regime is too many “Rudy try hard” types and not blue chip players especially on the defensive side of the ball. No momentum swinging playmakers with sacks, forced fumbles, or turnovers of any kind. Just a schematically sound defense that without playmakers has allowed 31.6 points per game in 7 of our 8 playoff losses. No one to stem the tide and crest momentum in the Bills direction.

Furthermore what is upsetting was the scapegoating then DC Leslie Frazier over the :13 playoff loss to Kansas City in the 36-33 divisional playoff loss in ’21 to KC. Override the DC if you believe something different should have been called. You’re both defensive coordinators…yet I digress.

Our plight has been one of not getting over the hump and winning a Super Bowl and now we’ve wasted most of Josh Allen’s career as he is now 30. The years are running out and the time is now for a quarterback that has taken more hits over the last 7 years than any in the NFL.

If this is all about bringing in culture, know how and intimate knowledge of your newest AFC East antagonist in the Patriots, go hire Bill Belichick before anyone knows what hit them. Yes the man who cultivated “The Patriot Way” that Coach Vrabel resurrected and is taking to the AFC Championship would do Buffalo some good. He knows the discipline and approach it takes to get to and win the Super Bowl that has not been in Orchard Park.

Do you realize he is 14 wins from becoming the NFL’s All Time winningest Coach?? How many times has he been mentioned as being a defensive genius for his morphing a 3-4 to just using Nickle in the ’90 NFC Championship Game?? His 2-5 defense he copied from the late Fritz Shurmer to win Super Bowl XXV?? Or the Ameoba defense also borrowed from Fritz Shurmer to confuse QBs with all standing personnel that he taught to & Brian Flores is killing it with in Minnesota?

Belichick struggled when Brady left because he couldn’t develop a QB like Mike Tomlin. The difference is Bill Belichick’s maintained his genius in crafting top defenses despite their offensive woes. Do you realize he had the 15th (2020), 4th (2021), 9th (2022), & 7th (2023) ranked defenses in the years after Tom?? This isn’t an out of touch Pete Carroll coming back a decade after leaving Seattle. Belichick fielded a top ten defense just 2 years ago. I’d go Tomlin but he wants to take a year off and just had the league’s 26th ranked defense.

The Bills window is now with a franchise quarterback who could use some short fields from a better defense. An offensive coordinator who can maximize an aging Josh Allen and prepare him for a legitimate Super Bowl run. What goes into each meeting, divisional dominance, and championship preparedness. Many people sent me messages and talked behind my back after proclaiming McDermott should be bounced, well he has and you might want to listen to The Chancellor this time as Belichick is key to a championship legacy. Its one of the reasons I used a Gatorade bath from the Giants ’86 playoff win to stretch your imagination. After all…I did mention what his overall legacy had grown to leading in to Super Bowl XLVI. Its high time to listen.

The Buffalo Bills mission…if you want to win one of these.

Thanks for reading, like, subscribe, share!!

Epilogue: So today I sit down to have lunch after having a series of Bills fans scream “No!” in hiring Bill Belichick and on First Things First Nick Wright offered this:

The Soul Of The Game: 1986 Conference Championships

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Article reissue from 11, August 2012

When we say “The Chancellor never sleeps”, we mean there is always football on. Whether we’re talking about the Hall of Fame exhibition game between the Arizona Cardinals and the New Orleans Saints, or a former landmark game, there is always football on in the imagination. Although I’m writing a football book based upon the Super Bowls, my favorite week are those of the AFC and NFC Championship Games.

There you will find the last of the games between passionate fans of the home teams versus the sterile groups that attend the Super Bowl. The season ticket holder who has been cheering and screaming for 4 months… it leads to a contrast that can’t be matched by the corporate Super Bowl ticket holder.

86TaylorWhen the home team wins the conference championship the celebration reverberates throughout the stadium. The fans don’t want to leave and in some instances players take a victory lap long after the cameras are gone. On the other hand the silence that can overcome a stadium when the home team goes down can be deafening. It’s almost like something has gone wrong with your ears. How can 80,000 people go that silent?? Yet you remember last January how quiet it got in Candlestick Park when Lawrence Tynes kicked the New York Giants to the Super Bowl.

In 1986, the Championships were two tightly fought games. The New York Giants beat the Washington Redskins 17-0 and did so based upon good field position with a fierce wind in the first quarter. In Cleveland a defensive battle gave way to John Elway coming of age with “The Drive”. From there the Broncos, who had gained 216 total yards throughout the first 54:00 of the game, drove 98 yards to the tying score. Then won it in overtime.

These fiercely contested game made Super Bowl XXI anti-climactic. They had intensity that bordered on the Hatfields and the McCoy’s and all four defenses played terrific football that day. The two games before the Super Bowl are normally better games than the Super Bowl and my love for the conference finals started with these fiercely fought games.

Thanks for reading and share the article.

The Music City Miracle: Story of the Homerun Throwback (forward) Titans v Bills ’99 AFC Wildcard

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Reissue of painful article offered 17, June 2019

As we make our way to the NFL’s 106th season we have to take a look back at the great moments over the last century. These great games that go on to impact careers, eras, and Hall of Fame legacies take place in the NFL playoffs. At times you’ll have something momentus happen during the regular season but it’s the finality and visibility of postseason play where everyone is viewing an individual event at the same time that grow into lore.

A first playoff game for a team in a new city and stadium where the Titans had been 8-0 in the regular season. The ’99 campaign had a collegiate type spirit as the Titans finally had a home after bouncing around like nomads for 2 seasons.

Now they were going to take on the Buffalo Bills in the ’99 AFC Wildcard Game. It came with a sense of irony as you looked back at the tumultuous turn that saw the franchise’s descent from the beloved Houston Oilers to the nomadic Tennessee Oilers. It’s genesis was the ’92 AFC Wildcard game some 7 years earlier.

At the time the Oilers were nearing the end of a frustrating era in which they’re Run n Shoot offense had been the scourge of the league. Hall of Fame QB Warren Moon had put up video game numbers as he and his trio of 1,000 yard receivers in Ernest Givins, Haywood Jeffires, and the late Drew Hill torched defenses in the regular season. Yet in the postseason the football gods weren’t so kind.

Between 1987-1991 the Oilers had made the playoffs all 5 years yet never seemed to have that signature game from Warren Moon to get to an AFC Championship Game. Injuries and timely defense from their opponents seemed to undo this team in the postseason and their window for a championship run was nearing it’s end.

Moon was turning 36 and how long could he play at a high level?

The ’92 team went 10-6 and had to go to take on the 2 time AFC Champion Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park. They had beat the Bills 27-3 in the finale to set up the Wild Card tilt. In that game the Oilers knocked out Jim Kelly with a knee injury and wouldn’t have to face him in the Wildcard round.

Andre Reed scores the go ahead touchdown in the greatest comeback in NFL history.

In what should have been his signature win Moon blistered the Bills to go 19 of 22 for 4TDs and took a commanding 28-3 halftime lead. In the 2nd half the Bills turned the tables coming back from a 35-3 deficit to win 41-38 in overtime. The greatest comeback in NFL history.

The collapse was devastating and the doubt and discourse whittled away fan support as the team descended in to medicocrity over the next couple of years.

Finally Owner Bud Adams decided to move the team in 1996. He had watched Art Modell pull the plug in Cleveland & move the Browns to Baltimore the season before. Why try to win back a city that had tired of your failures when you can win anew elsewhere?? The Houston Oilers were no more and the Tennessee Oilers wandered the desert in search of a home.

They played the ’97 season in the Liberty Bowl and ’98 in Vanderbilt Stadium. Both were college arenas where they weren’t the main tenants and playing on a college campus. It didn’t have the look and feel of an NFL ball club as Eddie George and Steve McNair emerged as the team’s new stars. Then they made the decision to change the name of the team to reflect a new identity… the Tennessee Titans and would play in their own brand new stadium as Nashville became their new home.

A new energy hit Adlephia Coliseum immediately as the team was refreshed with new uniforms befitting the change. They played to raucous fans who showed an appreciation for having their own team. It never felt that way when they still had their Oilers name from their years in Texas. The team went 13-3 on the strength of Eddie George (1,304 yds / 9TDs) Steve McNair (337 yds rushing/ 8 TDs) and a smash mouth rushing offense while super rookie DE Jevon Kearse burst onto the scene with a rookie record 14.5 sacks.

The Freak was the playmaker on an aggressive physical defense and turned in the most impactful season since Lawrence Taylor in 1981. He was voted to his 1st Pro Bowl, All Pro, and took home the ’99 NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year Award. They won 7 of their last 8 including a 41-14 win over division winner Jacksonville in week 15. They were primed to make a run and 1st up in the wildcard round??

Those Buffalo Bills who were nearing the end of their run with future Hall of Famers Bruce Smith, Andre Reed, and Thurman Thomas. Jim Kelly had already left the building after ’96 and the Bills began this strange odyssey of who should be quarterbacking??

Wade Phillips had taken over for Hall of Fame Head Coach Marv Levy and by all accounts favored Doug Flutie. He brought an energy to the team and an excitement even at this advanced age. Things seemed to pick up when he would go on a long serpentine run or scramble then hit an open receiver. An excitment christened “Flutie Magic”.

Eric Moulds was the new big threat in the Bills offense after a breakout ’98 (1,368 yds rec / 9 TDs) which was only bolstered by an NFL playoff record 240 yards in a Wildcard loss to Miami. Moulds was the future yet Andre Reed was still there to provide punch in the passing game.

Antowain Smith had become the featured runner as Thurman Thomas had shown wear after a Hall of Fame career. In ’99 he was injured with a lacerated liver that allowed him to return with fresh legs late in ’99 as Smith and Jonathan Linton had worn down toward season’s end.

One thing the Bills could bank on was the league’s #1 defense as Bruce Smith, Phil Hansen, and Marcellus Wiley provided a solid pass rush.

Yet all that paled in comparison to the ultimate betrayal that haunts Buffalo to this very day.

In an attempt to get a leg up on the franchise quarterback derby the Bills signed Rob Johnson before the ’98 season. He had started one game for an injured Mark Brunell while playing for Jacksonville. The offense would sputter under his leadership as he was often sacked for holding the ball too long. This is what prompted Phillips to replace him in ’98 & Flutie beat him out and started the 1st 15 games of ’99.

With a wildcard wrapped up and unable to improve their playoff position the Bills decided to rest Doug Flutie for the finale. It looked and sounded suspicious as Rob Johnson played the finale against a playoff bound Colts team also resting their starters. Then Coach Phillips dropped a bombshell and named Johnson the starter going into the Wildcard Game.

What?!?!?!?!!? The fanbase went bonkers and blew up switchboards and talk shows all week discussed Flutie v. Rob Johnson. Why would you disrupt the teams momentum to satisfy a front office pressuring you to start the $25 milion free agent?? Facing a Defensive Rookie of the Year coming off the ball with the intensity of a young Lawrence Taylor you decide to face him with an immobile quarterback?? What could possibly go wrong??

Less than 5 minutes into a game destined to be a defensive struggle, Kearse came screaming off the corner and sacked Johnson causing him to fumble out of the endzone. Safety 2-0! The Titans received the free kick and drove for a TD on a short field making it 9-0 just 7:00 into the game. It allowed Adelphia’s rowdy fans to stay at a fevered pitch as Buffalo fought uphill the entire game. Bruce Smith, in his last playoff appearance, kept Steve McNair under wraps sacking him 2.5 times.

The Bills clawed their way back in it and found themselves down 15-13 with 1:41 to go. Johnson had the chance to be a hero. Although he completed just 8 passes going into this final drive, he knew a playoff win could be the launching pad for his career. Johnson appeared calm amid the chaos and drove Buffalo to a last second field goal and a 16-15 lead! It appeared he had done it!! On one play he escaped his nemesis, Kearse and zipped his last completion to Peerless Price, all while scrambling with just one she on.

Once Steve Christie’s kick was good the Bills sideline exploded with emotion as the team brass scrambled to make reservations to go to Indianapolis for a rematch with Peyton Manning, Edgerrin James and the 13-3 upstart Colts… all they had to do was get through the final :16

It was The Immaculate Reception of the new millenium since we were in January of 2000. The parallels were there as a city was hosting it’s 1st playoff game, a last second touchdown when the home team had no hope, and a long delay where the officials had to discuss the legitamacy of the scoring play. Only this time Instant Replay was used as an officiating tool. As a Billls fan I was screaming forward lateral and did so right before writing this…

The conclusive evidence is the 4th replay as Joe Theismann, Paul Mcguire, and Mike Patrick exalts “From THAT angle…” and I tried to argue for years it was a forward lateral.

It was the end of an era as Hall of Famers Thurman Thomas, Andre Reed, and Bruce Smith were let go at the end of the season. They were the last of the Bills that had played in the 4 Super Bowls at the beginning of the decade. The football gods struck back for doing Flutie dirty and benching him going into the playoffs. It was only the 2nd time in NFL history where a backup was named to start the playoffs without an injury. Only the Jets in 1986 when Pat Ryan was named to start the ’86 AFC Wildcard over Ken O’Brien after the Jets lost their last 6 games was the other occasion.

As for the Titans… they rode this incredible momentum all the way to Super Bowl XXXIV where Kevin Dyson wound up in another famous play. Mike Jones tackling him at the 1 yard line as time ran out. Over the next 8 seasons the Titans were an elite team as Eddie George and Steve McNair became household names. Kevin Dyson had a good NFL career and is now Principle of a local school in the Nashville area.

The Music City Miracle didn’t become as famous as The Immaculate Reception…however had the Titans won a Super Bowl in the years that followed, it would have.

In January of 2000 it was played on ESPN and NFL Shows the rest of the month as it was truly a great play. One for the ages for everyone that wasn’t a Bills fan. We still bristle.

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